January 25
Events * 41 - After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate. *1327 - Edward III becomes King of England. *1494 - Alfonso II becomes King of Naples. *1533 - Henry VIII of England secretly marries his second wife Anne Boleyn. *1554 - Founding of São Paulo city, Brazil. *1573 - Battle of Mikatagahara, in Japan; Takeda Shingen defeats Tokugawa Ieyasu. *1755 - Moscow University established on Tatiana Day. *1787 - American Daniel Shays leads rebellion to seize Federal arsenal to protest debtor's prisons. *1791 - The British Parliament passes the Constitutional Act of 1791 and splits the old province of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada. *1792 - The London Corresponding Society is founded. *1858 - The Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn becomes a popular wedding recessional after it is played on this day at the marriage of Queen Victoria's daughter, Victoria, and Friedrich of Prussia. *1879 - The Bulgarian National Bank is founded. *1881 - Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company. *1890 - Nellie Bly completes her round-the-world journey in 72 days. *1909 - Richard Strauss' opera Elektra receives its debut performance at the Dresden State Opera. *1915 - Alexander Graham Bell inaugurates U.S. transcontinental telephone service. *1917 - The Danish West Indies is sold to the United States for $25 million. *1919 - The League of Nations is founded. *1924 - The 1924 Winter Olympics open in Chamonix, France (in the French Alps), inaugurating the Winter Olympic Games. *1937 - The Guiding Light airs on radio for the first time. Also went to television making this show the longest running broadcast program in United States radio and television history. *1941 - Pope Pius XII elevates the Apostolic Vicariate of the Hawaiian Islands to the dignity of a diocese. It becomes the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu. *1942 - Thailand declares war on the United States and United Kingdom. *1945 - Battle of the Bulge ends. *1946 - The United Mine Workers rejoins the American Federation of Labor. *1949 - At the Hollywood Athletic Club the first Emmy Awards are presented. * 1949 - The first Israeli election -- David Ben-Gurion becomes Prime Minister. *1955 - Soviet Union ends state of war with Germany. *1959 - Pope John XXIII proclaims upcoming Second Vatican Council. *1960 - The National Association of Broadcasters reacts to the Payola scandal by threatening fines for any disc jockeys who accepted money for playing particular records. *1961 - In Washington John F. Kennedy delivers the first live presidential television news conference. *1971 - Charles Manson and three female "Family" members are found guilty of the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders. * 1971 - Idi Amin leads a coup deposing Milton Obote and becomes Uganda's president. * 1971 - Himachal Pradesh becomes the 18th Indian state. *1981 - Jiang Qing, the widow of Mao Zedong, is sentenced to death. *1981 - Tose Proeski, Macedonian Mega Star was born in Prilep,Macedonia *1986 - The National Resistance Movement topple the government of Tito Okello in Uganda. *1990 - The Burns' Day storm hits northwestern Europe. * 1990 - Honduras becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty. * 1990 - Avianca Flight 52 crashes, killing 73 passengers. *1993 - Mir Amir Kansi kills two employees outside CIA headquarters in Langley. *1994 - The Clementine space probe launches. *1995 - The Norwegian Rocket Incident: Russia almost launches a nuclear attack after it mistakes Black Brant XII, a Norwegian research rocket, for a US Trident missile. *1998 - During a historic visit to Cuba Pope John Paul II demands the release of political prisoners and political reforms while condemning US attempts to isolate the country. * 1998 - Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide attack on Sri Lanka's Temple of the Tooth, killing 8 people injuring 25 others. *1999 - A 6.0 Richter scale earthquake hits western Colombia killing at least 1,000. *2001 - A 50-year-old Douglas DC-3 crashes near Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela killing 24. *2002 - Wikipedia switches to the new version of its software ("Phase II") aka Magnus Manske Day. *2004 - Opportunity rover (MER-B) lands on surface of Mars. *2005 - A stampede at the Mandher Devi temple in Mandhradevi in India kills at least 258. *2006 - Three independent observing campaigns announce the discovery of OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb through gravitational microlensing, the first cool rocky/icy extrasolar planet around a main-sequence star. Births * 750 - Leo IV the Khazar, Byzantine Emperor *1477 - Anna, wife of Charles VIII of France (d. 1514) *1509 - Giovanni Morone, Italian cardinal (d. 1580) *1615 - Govert Flinck, Dutch painter (d. 1660) *1627 - Robert Boyle, Irish chemist (d. 1691) *1634 - Gaspar Fagel, Dutch statesman (d. 1688) *1640 - William Cavendish, English soldier and statesman (d. 1707) *1688 - Juraj Jánošík, famous Slovak outlaw (d. 1713) *1736 - Joseph Louis Lagrange, Italian-born mathematician (d. 1813) *1739 - Charles François Dumouriez, French general (d. 1823) *1759 - Robert Burns, Scottish poet (d. 1796) *1794 - François-Vincent Raspail, French chemist (d. 1878) *1796 - William MacGillivray, Scottish naturalist and ornithologist (d. 1852) *1825 - George Pickett, American Confederate General (d. 1875) *1841 - Jackie Fisher, British First Sea Lord (d. 1920) *1858 - Kokichi Mikimoto, Japanese pearl farm pioneer (d. 1954) *1860 - Charles Curtis, 31st Vice President of the United States (d. 1936) *1864 - Julije Kempf, Croatian historian and writer (d. 1934) *1874 - W. Somerset Maugham, English writer (d. 1965) *1878 - Ernst Alexanderson, Swedish-born television pioneer (d. 1975) *1882 - Virginia Woolf, English writer (d. 1941) *1885 - Kitahara Hakushū, Japanese poets and children's writers (d. 1942) *1886 - Wilhelm Furtwängler, German conductor (d. 1954) *1899 - Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian politician (d. 1972) *1900 - Theodosius Dobzhansky, Ukrainian-American geneticist and biologist (d. 1975) * 1900 - Yojiro Ishizaka, Japanese writer (d. 1986) *1901 - Martin De Alzaga, Argentine racing driver (d. 1982) *1905 - Maurice Roy, French Canadian Roman Catholic cardinal, archbishop of Quebec (d. 1985) *1913 - Witold Lutosławski, Polish composer (d. 1994) * 1913 - Luis Marden, American photojournalist (d. 2003) *1916 - Frank "Pop" Ivy, American and Canadian football coach (d. 2003) *1917 - Ilya Prigogine, Russian scientist Nobel Laureate (d. 2003) * 1917 - Jânio Quadros, Brazilian politician (d. 1992) *1918 - Ernie Harwell, American baseball sportscaster *1919 - Edwin Newman, American journalist and writer *1923 - Shirley Mason, American psychiatric patient (Commonly known as "Sybil") (d. 1998) *1924 - Lou Groza, American football player (d. 2000) *1925 - Giorgos Zampetas, Greek musician and songwriter (d. 1992) *1927 - Antonio Carlos Jobim, Brazilian musician (d. 1994) *1928 - Eduard Shevardnadze, President of Georgia * 1928 - Jérôme Choquette, Quebec lawyer and politician *1929 - Benny Golson, American jazz musician *1930 - Tanya Savicheva, Russian diarist (d. 1944) *1931 - Dean Jones, American actor *1933 - Corazon Aquino, President of the Philippines *1936 - Diana Hyland, American actress (d. 1977) *1937 - Ange-Félix Patassé, President of the Central African Republic *1938 - Shotaro Ishinomori, Japanese manga author (d. 1998) * 1938 - Leiji Matsumoto, Japanese creator of anime. * 1938 - Etta James, American singer * 1938 - Vladimir Vysotsky, Russian poet (d. 1980) *1939 - Gabriel Romanus, Swedish politician *1941 - Buddy Baker, American race car driver * 1941 - Gregory Sierra, American actor *1942 - Carl Eller, American football player * 1942 - Eusébio, Portuguese footballer *1943 - Tobe Hooper, American film director *1944 - Anita Pallenberg, Italian model *1945 - Leigh Taylor-Young, American actress *1947 - Tostão, Brazilian footballer * 1947 - Ángel Nieto, Spanish motorcycle racer *1949 - John Cooper Clarke, English punk-poet * 1949 - Paul Nurse, English biochemist, Nobel Laureate *1951 - Steve Prefontaine, American runner (d. 1975) *1952 - Timothy White, American journalist (d. 2002) * 1953 - Mark Weil, Uzbek theatre director (d. 2007) *1953 - Wayne Ferris, American professional wrestler *1954 - Ricardo Bochini, Argentinian footballer * 1954 - Kim Gandy, American feminist *1955 - Terry Chimes, English musician (The Clash) *1956 - Andy Cox, English musician (The Beat, Fine Young Cannibals) *1957 - Jenifer Lewis, American actress * 1957 - Eskil Erlandsson, Swedish politician * 1957 - Andrew P. Harris, American politician *1958 - Dinah Manoff, American actress *1961 - Vivian Balakrishnan, Singaporean politician *1962 - Chris Chelios, American ice hockey player *1965 - Esa Tikkanen, Finnish ice hockey player *1967 - Randy McKay, Canadian ice hockey player *1969 - Kina, American singer *1971 - Luca Badoer, Italian race car driver * 1971 - China Kantner, American actress * 1971 - Ana Ortiz, American actress and singer *1973 - Geoff Johns, American comic book writer * 1973 - Chris Guy, American professional wrestler *1975 - Mia Kirshner, Canadian actress * 1975 - Tim Montgomery, American athlete * 1975 - Dat Phan, Stand up comedian *1976 - Mario Haberfeld, Brazilian racing car driver *1978 - Denis Menchov, Russian cyclist * 1978 - Jason Roberts, English-born footballer * 1978 - Derrick Turnbow, American baseball player *1979 - Pi Hongyan, French badminton player * 1979 - Gabe Jennings, American distance runner * 1979 - Rodrigo Ribeiro, Brazilian racing driver * 1980 - Michelle McCool, American professional wrestler * 1980 - Xavi, Catalan Spanish footballer * 1980 - Efstathios Tavlaridis, Greek footballer *1981 - Francis Jeffers, English footballer *1981 - Alicia Keys, American singer *1982 - Sho Sakurai, Japanese singer and actor *1984 - Robinho, Brazilian footballer *1985 - Tina Karol, Ukrainian singer *1986 - Chris O'Grady, English footballer *1987 - Maria Kirilenko, Russian tennis player *1988 - Tatiana Golovin, French tennis player *1998 - Marlene Lawston, American actress Deaths * 389 - Gregory Nazianzus, theologian and Patriarch of Constantinople (b. 329) * 477 - Geiseric, King of the Vandals and Alans * 844 - Pope Gregory IV *1067 - Emperor Yingzong of China (b. 1032) *1366 - Henry Suso, German mystic *1431 - Charles II (b. 1364) *1494 - King Ferdinand I of Naples (b. 1423) *1559 - King Christian II of Denmark, Sweden and Norway (b. 1481) *1573 - Hirate Hirohide, Japanese samurai (b. 1553) *1586 - Lucas Cranach the Younger, German painter (b. 1515) *1640 - Robert Burton, English scholar (b. 1577) *1670 - Nicholas II (b. 1612) *1726 - Guillaume Delisle, French cartographer (b. 1675) *1733 - Gilbert Heathcote, Mayor of London (b. 1652) *1751 - Paul Dudley, Attorney-General of Massachusetts (b. 1675) *1881 - Konstantin Thon, Russian architect (b. 1794) *1907 - René Pottier, French cyclist (b. 1879) *1908 - Mikhail Chigorin, Russian chess player (b. 1850) * 1908 - Ouida, English writer (b. 1839) *1912 - Dmitry Milyutin, Russian Field Marshal (b. 1816) *1925 - Ivan Vucetic, Croatian anthropologist (b. 1858) *1940 - Elias Simojoki, Finnish clergyman and politician (b. 1899) *1947 - Al Capone, American gangster (b. 1899) *1949 - Makino Nobuaki, Japanese statesman　(b. 1861) *1957 - Kiyoshi Shiga, Japanese physician and bacteriologist (b. 1871) * 1957 - Ichizo Kobayashi, Japanese industrialist and Minister of Commerce and Industry (b. 1873) *1963 - Wilson Kettle, Guinness World Record holder for most living descendants (b. 1860) *1969 - Irene Castle, English dancer (b. 1887) *1970 - Jane Bathori, French mezzo-soprano (b. 1877) * 1970 - Eiji Tsuburaya, Founder of Tsuburaya Productions, creator of Ultraman (b. 1901) *1972 - Erhard Milch, German field marshal (b. 1892) *1975 - Charlotte Whitton, Canadian politician, mayor of Ottawa (b. 1896) *1981 - Adele Astaire, American dancer (b. 1897) *1982 - Mikhail Suslov, Soviet politician (b. 1902) *1990 - Ava Gardner, American actress (b. 1922) *1994 - Stephen Cole Kleene, American mathematician (b. 1909) *1995 - Cal Jammer, American actor (b. 1960) *1996 - Jonathan Larson, American composer (b. 1960) *1999 - Sarah "Sadie" Delany, American author (b. 1889) * 1999 - Ted Mallie, American radio and television announcer (b. 1924) * 1999 - Robert Shaw, American conductor (b. 1916) *2003 - Samuel Weems, Arkansas judge (b. 1936) *2004 - Fanny Blankers-Koen, Dutch athlete (b. 1918) * 2004 - Miklós Fehér, Hungarian footballer (b. 1979) *2005 - Stanisław Albinowski, Polish economist and journalist (b. 1923) * 2005 - William Augustus Bootle, American judge (b. 1902) * 2005 - Philip Johnson, American architect (b. 1906) * 2005 - Ray Peterson, American singer (b. 1935) * 2005 - Nettie Witziers-Timmer, Dutch athlete (b. 1923) *2006 - Anna Malle, adult film star (b. 1967) Holidays and observances * Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul celebrated by the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches, which concludes the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, * Eastern (Byzantine) Catholic Church: Feast of Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople * Christian ecumenism — Week of Prayer for Christian Unity ends. * Burns Night - Burns suppers are held in many parts of the world around this date. (Originated in Scotland) * Criminon Day - Commemorates the 1970 founding of Criminon, a program which seeks to rehabilitate prisoners by disseminating free copies of Scientology-related materials such as The Way to Happiness. * Roman Empire - second day of the Sementivae in honour of Ceres and Terra * St. Dwynwen's Day - Welsh celebration of love Diwrnod Santes Dwynwen. * Tatiana Day, celebrated as the Day of Russian students since 1755, when the Moscow University was founded. Note: The date "Jan/25/1994" is "commemorated" as a font-character in the (MS Win98) "HM Phonetic" font (@1994) -- possibly its "birthday". (See keymap-code "ctrl-2") External links * BBC: On This Day * * On this day in Canada ---- Category:January